About Me

I am a person with varied interests.
Music is my breath and though I like all kinds of music, I am enamoured of the variety and the depth of Indian Classical music.As far as Film music is concerned, I love Old songs and ILaiyaraaja-whom I consider as one of the best composers in the world- is my favourite composer.
I love travelling and meeting new people . A lover of nature, I prefer those long walks.

This is
addressed by a man to his beloved. Sensing her fear that he might
desert her, he says,

‘Oh dear, do not fear!’

But how does he
say this?

He first starts
with describing her beauty- ‘Oh the dark girl whose hair smells of blue
water lily blossoms, whose honey filled mouth has the fragrance of white water
lilies and whose face has some beautiful tiny spots like the pollens of lotus
flowers which grows in deep ponds!’

Next, ‘Even when I say don’t fear, you are scared’.

Finally he
assures her,. ‘Even if this land which is
surrounded by the big ponds and the ocean on whose shores the short-legged
swans live, is offered to me, I will not abandon you’.

Note that there are
three parts in the poem.

Describing and
praising the woman for her beauty (isn’t this what men do to
impress a woman first?).

Lest she feels
he is flattering her just to escape from the situation, he makes the
next statement.

But still this
can be considered to be a false
promise and perhaps not too convincing.
So he says, ‘Let the world be offered to
me. I won’t leave you’.

Psychology at its best!

The similes
are used with a purpose. A swan is
supposed to possess the quality of separating milk from water. Lotus is a flower with a sense of
balance.By using these two, the poet conveys that the
Lover (man) is genuine.Isn’t it a beautiful poem about true love?

This poem-written by a poet called ‘SiRaikkudu
Aandhiyaar’ is taken from ‘KuRunthogai’,
which is part of the 2500 year old Sangam Literature. If we quote and
discuss about this after so many centuries it is because of the inherent grace,
elegance and a sense of balance.

I am sure the works of ILaiyaraaja will continue to be discussed like this for the same reason.

The song of the day is special.

The fascination
of his compositions is contained not
so much in the way he sheds light on
its beauty as on how aesthetic beauty
evolves in his hands. This fact is fully evident in this song.

‘Muththamizh Kaviye Varuga’ from ‘Dharmaththin Thalaivan’(1988) in my
opinion is one of the greatest love duets
in Tamizh Film Music. It is soft and
yet goes deep into our system kindling all subtle emotions hidden inside us. This composition is also an example of
how he strikes a balance between classical
and light and how he improvises his deep knowledge of the ragas/taaLas.

For starters, this composition is based on Gowrimanohari
and is set to Chatushra EkataaLam.

The Maestro
touches some of the niceties of the ragam,
and adds an alien note very sparingly
to give it a different complexion.
But two things make the composition unique
and beautiful:

1. Chatushrambeats used as the leitmotif

2. Silence.

Please recall that in ‘Solaippovil maalai thendRal’(incidentally
based on the same raga), a pattern
where the taaLa was divided into 16-maatras
appeared as the leitmotif. Let us
see what happens in ‘Muththamizh Kaviye’.

The composition
starts with the stringed instrument
playing with a unique suppleness for two Aavartanaas(cycles)
of chatushram sans percussion. The Chorus starts the humming in Gowrimanohari
with the percussion playing ‘ta – dhi -/ta ka dhi mi’- stress on the first and the third syllables the first time and all the four syllables the next time. It is sedate and classy.

This continues for four cycles after which the Chorus
sings only for one beat during the samam
(beginning of the taaLa) sounding ‘ta- dhi –‘ in melodic form. The keys respond for the next 3 beats of
the TaaLam. This happens for four full cycles.

This pattern is the leitmotif and in fact defines the entire composition.

To start with, the first two lines in the Pallavi- in the beautiful voice of Chitra- go plain without any backing of percussion with the drums
sounding only at the beginning of the cycle. After 2 cycles, the TaaLa
pattern appears and backs the vocals
till the last line of the Pallavi.

The Pallavi
starts with the ‘sa’, touches the mandara ‘ni’and goes on the ascending in the first two lines. The alien swara ‘ni2’ peeps in very briefly in the
following two lines. The secondpart of the last line goes descending (Sa ni dha pa ma) and ends with a
beautiful podi sangati (maga marisa). Yesudass’ voice is as soft as ever.

The Composition
starts in samam. The first two lines
have the vocals only in the first 3 beats of the TaaLa with the last beat being played only by the percussion. While the gap is for 4maatras
before the second line, it is for 6maatras before the third line as the
line ‘Kaadalenum’ starts after the samam. Isn’t silence beautiful?

The first
interlude is replete with reposeful ingredients. Yesudass’ voice from the Pallavi
merges with the flute in the
beginning. The Flute-backed by the folksy string- goes on its own trip. It
is joyous; it is tantalizing; it is magical. The entire piece which runs for 8 cycles,
becomes more meaningful with the absence of the percussion. The drums
sound once at the end of odd cycle
and twice at the end of even cycle.

The wondrous piece ends, the leitmotif
appears for two cycles and guides to
the CharaNam. Here again, the third
rendering merges with the beginning of the CharaNam.

The CharaNams
reveal the musical sensitivity and the sensibility of the composer. If the recurring ‘ma
pa pa’ phrase is exquisite, the use of upper ‘Sa’ and ‘Ri’ in the
following lines are emotive.

The penultimate
line and the last line are classically
brilliant. The penultimate line goes
on the descending first and then cheekily adds the alien swara ‘ni2’ while the last line has the ‘podi’sangatis and finally the akaaram
that first ascends (ri ga ma pa dha ni Sa Ri), then
sandwiches ‘ni’ between the two upper
‘Sa’s and finally descends (pa ga ri).

The second
interlude has a stupendous appeal. Peppered by the stringed instrument, the Flute
which plays with an unmatched passion is interlaced with two more flutes playing in different octaves.
The leitmotif appears again for the
next six cycles.